American journal of industrial medicine
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Surveillance data suggest high rates of electrocutions and fatal falls among workers in electric utility companies, who may be exposed to electric current, heights, flammable agents, and frequent motor vehicle travel. To characterize the occurrence of fatal injuries among electric utility workers, we studied workers in five electric power companies in the United States. A cohort of 127,129 men hired between 1950 and 1986 was followed through 1988. ⋯ Occupations requiring daily work on elevations or frequent, direct contact with energized electrical equipment experienced markedly higher rates of fatal injury from falls and electrocutions with rate ratios of 21.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 11.4-41.5) and 16.7 (95% CI 6.6-42.6), respectively, independent of worker age and seniority. Although fatal injury rates in this industry have declined in recent decades, significant numbers of deaths still occur. Based on the premise that all injuries are preventable, a need for continued vigilance and efforts at prevention is indicated.
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Home health services represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the US economy. Home health care workers (HHCWs) might be expected to have a high incidence and increased severity of injury because of inherent difficulty in control over their work environment, and the limited amount of research on injuries in home health care appears to support this hypothesis. ⋯ These data indicate that injuries to HHCWs, though less frequent than in their nursing home counterparts, result in greater lost time from work and accompanying costs, which may indicate greater severity of injury. Characteristics of home health work, including increased intensity and speed of work, adverse working conditions, and the necessity of motor vehicle transportation as a condition of work may be contributors to injury in this setting. Further investigation of determinants of accidents and injuries in home health care, both in the actual setting where the work takes place and in the way it is structured, is warranted.